title: Persecutory ideation and a history of cannabis use.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cannabis use is associated with the occurrence of psychotic experiences. However there are multiple distinct psychotic experiences, each likely to occur as quantitative traits in the general population. In this study we tested for an association of cannabis use with a dimensional assessment of persecutory ideation.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1714 individuals from the general population completed a dimensional measure of current persecutory ideation and reported on whether they had ever taken cannabis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of all participants, 648 (38%) reported a history of cannabis use. These individuals reported significantly higher current levels of persecutory ideation. The amount of variance in paranoia scores explained was low. Individuals with a history of cannabis use had almost twice the odds of reporting any paranoid ideation in the past month compared with individuals who had never taken cannabis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using a state of the art assessment, the study adds to findings of an association of persecutory ideation with cannabis use.
authors.affiliation: Oxford Cognitive Approaches to Psychosis, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, United Kingdom. Daniel.Freeman@psych.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.forename: Robin M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lister
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dunn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018672:Community Health Planning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010259:Paranoid Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cannabis; Delusions; Paranoia; Persecutory ideation